Powering the future: Critical minerals explained
What makes a mineral critical? Put simply, critical minerals help create the essential everyday items we all use. But these minerals may not be easy to get.
Oct 23, 2025
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Energy & Green Tech
Page 4: Research news on Critical mineral supply
Critical mineral supply concerns the identification, extraction, processing, and recycling of materials essential for energy, defense, and high‑technology systems, with particular emphasis on rare earth elements, uranium, lithium, graphite, and related metals. The field examines geological resources, waste and urban mining pathways, nuclear fuel cycle by‑products, and advanced materials development alongside geopolitical dependencies, trade controls, and national strategies. It also addresses supply‑chain vulnerabilities and sustainability constraints that influence low‑carbon energy transitions and long‑term resource security.
Engineering
Spark plasma sintering and diffusion technology yield high-performance permanent magnets for green industries
A research team has developed an innovative manufacturing process for permanent magnets that overcomes the limitations of conventional techniques. The team's breakthrough significantly advances the diffusion technology, which ...
Oct 20, 2025
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Energy & Green Tech
The global race is on to secure critical minerals. Why do they matter so much?
Critical minerals are having a moment. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is at the White House to talk up Australia's rich deposits with President Donald Trump. China, which has a global stranglehold on rare earth elements, ...
Oct 20, 2025
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Energy & Green Tech
Does the US have enough graphite to meet growing energy demand? Yes, but costs, quality are concerns
New research from the University of Michigan and Ford Motor Co. shows that the United States could mine enough graphite to build batteries for electric vehicles and other applications, but economics and geopolitics make it ...
Oct 9, 2025
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Business
US clean energy supply chains projected to fall short of rising demand
Under current supply chain conditions, the United States is on track to fall significantly short of surging demand for three clean energy sources—wind, solar, and battery—due to the scarcity of critical raw materials, ...
Oct 9, 2025
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Business
Dynamic database addresses vanadium supply flow
Scientists at PSI have created a dynamic database for vanadium, an important raw material. This metal has enormous potential for the energy transition. Vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFB) can store electricity for longer ...
Oct 1, 2025
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Energy & Green Tech
Nuclear in your backyard? Tiny reactors could one day power towns and campuses—but community input will be key
You might imagine nuclear power plants as behemoth facilities spanning hundreds of acres. Nuclear microreactors, by contrast, could sit on land the size of a football field and power a whole town.
Sep 22, 2025
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Engineering
Metal organic frameworks enable a key step toward greener lighting and display technologies
Scientists at Oregon State University have taken a big step toward lighting and display technologies that are more energy efficient and better for the planet. The work centers around crystalline, porous materials known as ...
Sep 2, 2025
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Energy & Green Tech
Nuclear waste could be a source of fuel in future reactors
From electric cars to artificial intelligence (AI) data centers, the technologies people use every day require a growing need for electricity. In theory, nuclear fusion—a process that fuses atoms together, releasing heat ...
Aug 18, 2025
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Energy & Green Tech
New research effort could boost nuclear fuel performance
Researchers at the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) have begun a series of experiments that could result in more energy for the grid by increasing nuclear fuel efficiency. The tests are ...
Aug 14, 2025
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